Train-order signal.



E. H'. DODSON.

TRAIN ORDER SIGNAL.

APPLlCATION men MAR. 10. 1916.

LQLM5 Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

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. INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTOR N EY E. H. DODSON. TRAIN ORDER'SIGNAL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10., 1916.

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TRAIN-ORDER SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

Application filed March 10, 1916. Serial No. 83,356.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that i, EMERY H. DODSON, a citi;-:en oi the United States, residing at rlleanor, in the county of Warren and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Train-Order sig nals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1n train order boxes and the primary object is to construct a train order box within a train despatchers ofiice from which the train order-blanks cannot be removed without setting the train stopping signal, thusniaklng it positively assured that the engineer to whom the order is to be delivered, will stop his train to receive the train order from the despatcher who cannot obtain a train orderlank from the box without automatically setting the stop signal.

In controlling and despatching trains, it is the custom of train despatchers at the central office to call an operator to give him an order for the engineer of the approaching train and it is the duty of the Operator to release the hook within the operators oiiice which controls the train stop signal or train order-signal, after which he takes the order as it is sent over the wire from the train despatchefls o'liice, and copies the order on a blank which is provided for this purpose, the blanks being kept in an order book it ator will neglect to release the train order signal before be copies the order from the despatcher at the central oi'lice, whereupon the engineer, observing that the signal is not set for indicating stop, will proceed and the train will go past the station without the order which might result in the occurrence of a wreck and the fault would be laid to the operator for forgetting his train order signal.

This invention provides means which makes it impossible for an operator to get a train order-blank to copy the train despatchers order until the operator has opened the order-blank box, the opening of which will cause an automatic operation of the train order signal, thereby obviating any possibility of a wreck occurring from the failure of the operator to set his train order signal.

For a full description of the invention and the advantages and merits thereof, reference is to be had to the following descripirequently happens that an opertion and the accompanying drawings, wherein is illustrated the preferred form of my lnvention in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary section through one wall of the operators office showing the device in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the order-blank box.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sect-ion on the line 4 1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. 1

The wall A which is the outer wall of.

the local operators oflice is provided on the inside with a bracket 1 upon which is mounted the order-blank box 2. A series of superposed shelves 3 are arranged within the order-blank box 2 for providing a series of compartments 4- in which the order-blank books may be kept. The side walls 5 and 6 of the order-blank box are provided with grooves 7 which are adapted to receive tongues 8 on the edges of the vertical sliding door or closure 9. A door-pull 10 is mounted upon the closure 9, whereby it may be raised or lowered for gaining access to the compartments 4 in which the orderblankbooks are kept. The bottom of the box is provided with a notch 11 and a catch 12 is pivotally mounted upon the door 9 which is normally held in engagement with the notch 11 by means of the expansion spring 18 which is in engagement with the catch 12 and mounted within a recess in the door or closure 9. A. finger button 1a is arranged at one end of the catch so that a pressure upon the button will cause the catch 12 to be released from the notch 11 thereby permitting the door to be raised.

A bracket 15 is mounted upon one end of the door 9 and rod 16 is slidably mounted in an aperture 17 which is provided in the upper end of the bracket 15. One end of the rod 16 is provided with screw threads and a washer 18 is mounted thereupon and a nut 19 is screw threaded upon the threads of the rod 16 for holding the washer 18 in engagement with one end of a coil expansion spring 20 which is arranged between the end of the bracket 15 and the washer 18 and has the rod 16 extending through its center.

The upper end of the rod is provided with an aperture 21 into which a chain 22 is seblank box. An aperture 25 is provided in the wall A through which is extended the chain 22 which passes outwardly and over a pulley 26, which is arranged upon the supporting arm 27, the chain being fastened at its end to an arm 28 which is secured to and disposed at an angle from the supporting rod of the train order signal 30. The train order signal 30 will be painted red and arranged in the usual manner for indicating to a train engineer that a train must be brought to a stop when the signal is in the proper position.

The supporting arm 27 extends laterally from the outer side of the wall A being braced by an arm 31 and has mounted at its end a frusto-conical bearing 32 in which the supporting rod 29 is mounted for rotatiOn. A helical slot 33 is provided in the bearing 32 and extends around the bearing 32 for a quarter of its circumference. The rod 29 is provided with a laterally extending pin 34 upon which is mounted a roller 35, which is adapted to roll within the slot 33 when the rod is rotated, thereby raising and turning the train order signal when the chain 22 is pulled and the closure or door 9 of the order-blank box is closed.

From this construction it will be observed that when the door of the train order box of the order-blank box is closed, the train order signal 30 will be turned edgewise and the roller 35 will be held in the upper ex tremity of the helical slot 33. Now, when the local operator desires to obtain an order-blank from the order-blank box, he must release the catch 12 whereupon the weight of the train order signal 30 will cause the roller to drop downwardly in the helical slot 33 and turn to a position for stepping the train as indicated clearly by Fig. 1 of the drawing.

l/Vhen the operator closes the door of the order-blank box it will be necessary to move the door downwardly for a greater distance than is provided for by the limited movement of a quarter of a turn which the train order signal takes. To accomplish this the coil spring 20 mounted on the rod 16 and the bracket 15 is provided, which is described above and which makes it possible for the door to be fully closed after the train order signal has been turned to a quarter of a turn.

From the foregoing it will be observed that a very simple and durable train order signal has been provided, the details of which embody the preferred form. I desire it to be understood however, that slight changes or modifications in the minor details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim:

1. The combination of a train order signal, of an order-blank box, the said box having a vertically slidable closure, a bracket mounted on the top of the closure, a rod disposed vertically and mounted for slidingmovement in the said bracket, means connecting the said train order signal with the said rod, and an expansion spring surrounding the said rod and engaged with the said bracket, the opposite end of the spring being engaged with the end of the said rod.

2. The combination of a train order signal, of an order-blank box, a closure for said order-blank box, a flexible element secured to said train order signal, a catch for said closure, a bracket mounted on said closure, a rod mounted for sliding movement in said bracket and connected to said flexible element, and resilient means mounted in said bracket and connected to said rod whereby said closure may be fully closed when said flexible element reaches its limit of movement.

3. The combination of a train order signal, of an order-blank box, a closure for said order-blank box, a flexible element secured to said train order signal, a catch for said closure,a bracket mounted on said closure, a rod mounted for sliding movement in said bracket and connected to said flexible element, an expansion coil spring arranged in said bracket and having one end engaging one endof said rod, said rod being secured to one end of said flexible element.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EMERY H. DODSON.

\Vitnesses J. E. ROCKWELL, A. M. ROCKWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atents, Washington, D. G. 

